BC

The lawyer for a man at the centre of a miscarriage of justice in a gang-rape case says his client wants to return to Canada and appeal the conviction.

Gurdev Singh Dhillon was convicted of sexual assault for his role in the July 2004 attack on a woman in Surrey, B.C., and was deported to India in 2008 after his appeal was dismissed.

But lawyer Paul Briggs says new information released Wednesday by the criminal justice branch could have exonerated his client.

"Spoke to him this morning, in fact," said Briggs on Friday. "He's expressed a desire to return to Canada and pursue any and all legal remedies that he may have."

But before any appeal can be launched, Briggs said he will have to obtain evidence that has not yet been disclosed to him.

Neil MacKenzie, spokesman for the criminal justice branch, said officials became aware in 2011 that evidence about the case was not disclosed to the Crown, and therefore not disclosed to the defendant.

The RCMP said it was their own review of the case that year that raised a red flag and determined that the initial investigation "did not sufficiently consider additional avenues regarding other potential suspects.''